LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (7-6) vs. ARKANSAS – FORT SMITH (0-6)Friday, February 27, 2015 – Game 1: 1 p.m., Game 2: 3 p.m.
Crowder Field (Fort Smith, Ark.)
Radio: None
All-Time Series: LCU leads 3-0
Lubbock Christian University opens Heartland Conference play Friday with a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Arkansas – Fort Smith… and it's all weather permitting at UAFS's Crowder Field.
LCU will be opening their second season of Heartland Conference play. Last season, LCU finished atop the Heartland Conference standings with a 26-4 conference record. They take a four-game conference win streak carrying over from last season. LCU is 11-0 all-time in conference openers under head coach
Nathan Blackwood and 1-0 in Heartland Conference openers. Last season, LCU opened conference play with an 11-4 win over Texas A&M International. The Chaps opened last season winning their first four conference games.
This season's opener comes against a hot Arkansas – Fort Smith squad. The Diamond Lions are 6-0 on the season for their best start in program history. Although the hot start, it's been the cold weather keeping them off the field. UAFS has had eight games cancelled and have not played a game since Feb. 14. UAFS is hitting .389 as a squad this season, with four home runs produced. Tyler Lein leads the lineup with a .478 batting average, co-leading the team in hits (11). Josh Vanderpool is hitting .458 and leads the team with 15 RBI. The Diamond Lions have a team ERA of 3.38 on the season and they have held opponents to a .232 batting average. They have six different pitchers that have combined for 9.1 innings on the season without an earned run allowed.
Expecting to start in the opener on the mound is Jordan Cordray. He is 1-0 on the season with a 1.12 ERA, and has 12 strikeouts in eight innings. Last season, Cordray pitched in a 13-1 loss to LCU, starting the game and allowing eight runs off 11 hits in four innings. Hasten Freeman is expected to start the second game. He is without a decision in two appearances and holds a 4.26 ERA.
LCU is 7-6 overall on the season. They are coming off a three-game series with Eastern New Mexico in which they won two of three games. The Chaps are seeking their first road win of the season (0-3). LCU is hitting .306 as a team and has produced 12 home runs (nine different players with home runs).
Hunter McFall leads LCU at the plate with a .370 batting average and co-leads with 13 RBI. The pitching staff has a 5.75 ERA and has held opponents to a .286 batting average.
Brig Gerlich is expected to start the opener on the bump for LCU. He is 2-1 with a 5.11 ERA this season. Gerlich is 1-0 all-time against UAFS. In a 5-3 win over UAFS last season, he went 6.2 innings and allowed three runs (only one earned run) off three hits.
Guillaume Blanchette will take the ball in the second game. He is 1-1 this season with a 5.91 ERA.
The Chaps swept UAFS in a three-game series last season at Hays Field and are 3-0 all-time against the Diamond Lions. LCU is 0-4 all-time in games played in Arkansas, with all prior four games played at the University of Arkansas (Fayetteville, Ark.).
